Sports

NFL Required The Falcons And Bengals To Play On Turf Field With Visible Injury Risk At Bernabeu Stadium In Spain

by Last Updated
NFL Madrid Spain field bernabeu stadium conditions turf decline end zone player safety
Sam Greene/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images, Ana Beltran

The Atlanta Falcons and the Cincinnati Bengals played the second-ever regular-season NFL game at Bernabeu Stadium in Spain on Sunday. They were forced to navigate unusual field conditions with a visible decline in the turf in the end zone.

It was a significant hazard for player safety.

Unfortunately, this kind of thing continues to happen with NFL games played outside of the United States. The league does not seem particularly worried.

Bernabeu Stadium has a retractable field.

Santiago Bernabeu Stadium opened 78 years ago in 1947. It has served as the home stadium for Real Madrid ever since.

The 83,000-capacity stadium underwent renovations in 1982, 2001 and 2024, in addition to significant expansions in 1952, 1992, 1994 and 2011. The most recent renovation was completed at the end of 2024 at a total cost of more than $1 billion.

Although it may not be the oldest or the nicest venue in the world, Bernabeu is one of the most innovative. The natural grass field is divided into six longitudinal sections known as trays. The six trays are mechanically lifted and moved on specialized rails that submerge into a 25-meter-deep, multi-level subterranean hypogeum. In other words, an underground greenhouse.

While the six trays are stored below the surface, the grass is maintained using artificial UV lighting, controlled irrigation and ventilation. It is a meticulous system!

Here is a more complete look at how Bernabeu Stadium prepares the field for game day:

As impressive a feat it may be, there is no guarantee that everything is going to come together as planned. There is always a chance that the turf could be damaged or unaligned.

The turf had a visible decline in the end zone.

Multiple Cincinnati Bengals players spent a good portion of their warmup period getting used to the playing surface. Monstrous offensive lineman Amarius Mims was one of them.

Meanwhile, Joe Burrow called over Ja’Marr Chase to discuss the back left corner of the end zone. They noticed an obvious taper near the pylon.

NFL officials took note of the concern. They walked over the end zone before kickoff to fill in any potential problem areas but did not find a reason not to play as planned.

Even if the league determined that the field is playable, that back left corner of the end zone is of serious concern. It looks like an injury waiting to happen. How do the players feel about this? Would you choose to avoid that corner all together or try to use it to your advantage?